Behold my third ever attempt at this ‘1 Dress 4 Styles’
thing with an OP on this blog. Although with British Crown I also have the comfort of having done it once already – then again, that’s four looks I’ve already done and now I had to come up with
four new ones. Still, I’d like to think that I gave it a pretty strong go.
Look 1: Elegant Navy
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| | Angelic Pretty Crown Ribbon OTKs | Innocent World Art Nouveau headbow | Milkribbon Misako brooch | offbrand beret, bolero, crown brooch and heels | |
Just for this dress I bought some grosgrain ribbon in navy
so that I could mix and match it with the red one that originally came with the
dress. In due course I’ll also try making a
matching bow for the neck. While British
Crown features as much blue as it does red, so far I tended to pair it more
with reds. Time for that to stop. Because of the layers this coord is better
suited to early autumn or cooler spring days and I could easily substitute the
heels for flats if I needed to be more comfortable/casual. And I’m so pleased
with that blue crown brooch, it is just made
for this print!
Look 2: Military Dress
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| | vintage jacket | Angelic Pretty Toy March OTKs | Sheena's Bella Bows mini hat | Hush Puppies boots | Innocent World Original Crown Tassel clip | Angelic Pretty Chess Chocolate Emblem brooch | |
I just love military-style looks, don’t blame me. Thanks to
the crown print this dress works pretty well for dress uniform-style outfits,
so I had to do something more like this. If I had the little pieces, I’d love
to take this further with some extra detail, like adding epaulettes and a
swagger stick, maybe even swap the jacket and hat for slightly grander ones
that would really convey the dress uniform feel. But I still like this, whether
it’s a base for more or an outfit on its own.
Look 3: True Tricolour
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| | Angelic Pretty Candy Fun Fair OTKs | DreamV bag | offbrand cardigan, beret and heels | |
It’s actually surprising that the print’s colours are more
true shades than jewel tones. We expect royal, classic prints like this to
feature more muted shades, but this one actually isn’t that. So while it works
with jewel tones like wine and navy, I knew I had to put together my blue
cardigan and socks combo and see what happened. It turned out to be the most
fun to play with, although it took me a few attempts to settle on the hair
accessory. Ideally I’d add some extra clips in both red and blue, however, I
don’t have any hair pieces at all in that shade of blue. Well, other than
what’s here and one bag, no pieces in that shade of blue, full stop. It’s still
such a fun outfit to look at though!
Look 4: Muted Royal
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| | Innocent World Origa OTKs | Innocent World shoes | Haruhi Clover headbow | Tea Party Club badge and enamel pin | Love from the North enamel pin | |
This last look was a result of a mini-epiphany. As I sat
there, trying to decide what outfit to create next that I wouldn’t have done in
some shape or form in the past, it struck me that that’s not the point of OPs.
We like them because they’re so easy to wear, literally one thing to throw on
and boom!, most of the outfit is already there. So while it’s great if they can
be versatile, I need to accept that they’re not made for this level of
versatility. Instead, I’m enjoying the fact how I can change the socks or the
hair accessory or add a different bag and that’s my new outfit with this dress.
In this one I’ve embraced the mismatched reds/burgundies and let the print do
the talking. It doesn’t need much more than that.
Truth be told, I’ve considered a few times trading this OP
for one of the JSK cuts in ivory because of that feeling that I could do so
much more with a JSK. But then I remember the joy I had when I discovered that
I could fit an unshirred Angelic Pretty OP (even if they did lie about the bust
measurement and it will only fit if I’ve a sports bra on) and that with a cut
like this it is a great ‘fancy casual’ piece. And so for now it stays as is.
With the collection of cardigans that I have I shouldn’t really complain about
it being less versatile, right?
All these outfits are so cute! I'll admit though...I love the last one most! The bodice and collar are just so nice it works really well on its own!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. This OP is so well constructed and balanced that it's almost a shame to be covering it up. And it's SO much nicer than the 2018 re-release OP cut!
DeleteI absolutely love this OP and print. It's hard to choose but I would say I love the first and the last outfits.<3
ReplyDeleteThis print is incredible, it gives me all the Jane Marple I need in my life in a cut that fits me! Although the JSK would fit me better, I just can't let go of the OP and I can't justify having both :P
DeleteLovely coordinates, my favorite is the first one and true tricolour. I love deep jeweltones, but that is something about vibrant shades.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should add the special set jsk to my wishlist, I can't really get over how nice the print looks in ivory.
Jewel tones are one of my favourite things, but I think because the ribbon on this print (the one printed just above the bottom crowns) is actually a true shade, the true tricolour scheme works with the dress.
DeleteIf you can, I'd definitely recommend it. The special set is a nice cut, although for whatever reason I could only find a special set in grey, none in ivory, and the grey doesn't appeal to me as much. Although to be honest, none of the other colourways, original or re-release, appeal to me as much as ivory does!
Seems last year special set has disappeared into thin air. I could find a livejournal wardrobe with it. It is same length as the OP and have same type of red ribbon. The cut is square with a row of lace and a tiny red ribbon bow.
DeletePretty if you posted a picture of it too, before you bought the op.
And yes the grey is nice, but the dress is really short and the cut isn't as nice as last year ordinary cut.
Yeah, I thought there was one that they released the same year as the original British Crown release, it's just not there on Lolibrary (probably happened around that same time that Lolibrary was moving).
DeleteIt was on lolibrary before they moved.
DeleteIt was lost in the move.
I also found out they have in store release of the cut in navy.
However I can find the navy special set on frill, to more than the orginal price, without the matching headbow, but one from another release. That is not going to happen.
That series still goes for quite a lot, even on Japanese second hand sites. I'm not surprised, it is very lovely and quite sought after, especially as the re-release colours aren't as nice as the original. Hopefully you'll be able to find it. :)
Delete